Regional Manager-Retail Midwest

Position Overview

The role of the Midwest Regional Manager requires complete ownership of all aspects of Ken’s Foods Brands business in collaboration with Acosta Sales & Marketing, our broker.  Activities include, but are not limited to, sales management, supply chain, forecasting, data analytics, retail merchandising operations, trade finance, and multi-level relationship building.

Our Ideal Candidate

You lead- You take the lead by influencing the agenda through collaboration, negotiation and thought leadership. You lead all customer calls, presentations, and story development.

You are a doer. You are a fast thinker, practical and resourceful. You do not shy away from doing demanding work and become more involved with all aspects of your job, including routine, practical, and getting into the details. You do not fear problems or the future because you know, deep down, you will be able to figure things out. 

You connect the dots- You have a pulse on the big picture to identify areas of opportunity for products and programs, develop customer strategies that incorporate consumer insights, and Circana syndicated data while having an awareness of competitor activity to build promotional strategies.

You are a collaborator- In this role, you will establish partnerships with multiple partners, internal cross-functional teams, brokers, and Senior Managers at your customers. These relationships thrive on mutual trust and integrity to achieve results and execute against strategy and goals.

You are an innovator- You will look for opportunities to improve and seek creative solutions. Your ability to adapt and adjust the strategy with the customer, revisit goals and gain insights from pre and post evaluation and return on investment analysis to incorporate learning into the strategic direction is crucial.

You are curious- It is important to understand business trends in each account through fact-based analysis to include brand share, pricing, and promotion levels, along with understanding the efficiency of different investment levels. You are curious about what works and what does not so that we can work together to refine customer tactics.

You are driven by data analytics – in this role you will demonstrate your ability to aggregate, consolidate and analyze copious amounts of data from various sources and create succinct and convincing sales arguments and presentations.

Deliver Annual Operating Plan

• Deliver annual operating plan commitment (dollars, cases).
• Maximize trade spending within allocated budget.

Customer Management

• Personally, calls on decision makers at the account (all levels). Category Manager, Director, VP Grocery.
• Establishes and maintains customer management relationships at all levels. Develops productive working relationships with the senior leaders at customer accounts.
• Ensures that the customer plans are aligned to Ken’s corporate objectives to deliver the team's overall volume, profit, and share objectives for each brand/category.
• Oversee the execution of brand strategies and category management initiatives.
• Track industry trends, identifies opportunities, and monitors competitive products.
• Provides market/customer expertise and direction to Ken’s HQ on all customer and team issues.

Primary Customer Responsibility

• HEB, AWG, Hy-Vee, Schnucks, Brookshire, Grocery Supply, Harps, ABS Southern & United, Crest Foods, Affiliated Foods, Fareway

Organizational Development

• Manages the performance & relationship of our Sales Agency, Acosta Sales, and Marketing.

Utilizes the Acosta team to help execute and deliver sales objectives. Partners with Acosta Senior Leadership to advance Ken’s Foods objectives at a senior level within your customers.

Financial Management

• Ensures that controls are maintained to measure and monitor sales spending, sales expenses, etc.
• Implements and enforces Ken’s policy; ensure customer compliance with defined contractual commitments.
• Establish alliances with customers that will address deductions and control unauthorized chargebacks.
• Manage promotional trade funding within corporate approved boundaries to provide volume growth.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities needed:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in sales, focusing on key account management within the retail grocery channel.

• Strong Sales Skills; negotiation, storytelling, and presentation skills.
• Broker management experience.
• Exceptional level of communication, problem solving, and leadership skills.
• Strong technical, business, and financial acumen.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, and syndicated data (Circana).
• Proficiency in Trade Plan Management System Blacksmith by Telus is a plus.

Working Conditions:

Remote Work with Regional Presence

• This role is remote. Approximate travel: Up to 40%.